The Dodgers Continue To Be a Cheat Code And Sign Premier Reliever Tanner Scott For 4 Years, $72M - A Lockout In a Few Years Now Seems Like a Certainty

Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres. Getty Images.

We're in the endgame of the 2024-2025 MLB offseason and it's time for the remaining free agents out there to decide their new homes. High end reliever Tanner Scott inked his deal this morning with LA. 

Really nice for the Dodgers to finally get someone. They've really had a tough time convincing guys to come join their squad lately. 

Just kidding, this is all so fucking stupid. And yes, Scott's $72M includes $21M deferred. 

The Dodgers have signed so many people that I don't know how they're gonna fit everyone on a 26 man roster. Is that their next trick? Somehow manipulate the rules so that you can carry 30 guys at any given time with no consequences? 

Obviously baseball has a problem, multiple actually. The Dodgers have seemingly broken the game with deferred payments, a Japanese pipeline, and unlimited money. Fun times for all. 

So how did we get here? Why is this happening? Well, the answer is two words —Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese superstar making just $2M a year during his playing days, only to rake in the remaining lump sum when he's retired in a tax friendly home has allowed the Dodgers to pretty much do whatever the hell they want. Why? Well, for starters he's fucking awesome. In year one he led them to a World Series title and racked up another MVP. Shohei is a unicorn in the sense that he can afford to only make $2M a year from the Dodgers right now because he makes $50M in endorsements off the field. No other player can do that. Dude basically put his entire $700M in a 401k and it didn't impact his current life negatively at all. Ohtani's arrival also created this comfort zone for other Japanese players to come over and join him. Leaving your home for a brand new country is definitely not easy. It's a challenge to fit in and feel at home, but Ohtani's presence makes that all doable. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki had no brainer, easy decision when it came to their free agency. Can I selfishly call them cowards for not accepting a bigger challenge? Sure, but I get it. Munetaka Murakami will have a similar easy decision next offseason when he makes his move. Why go anywhere else? 

Another part of this? Winning brings in tons of revenue. You know what else does? Having another country's market watching all your games and buying your stuff. The added money stream from Japan will make Shohei's contract seem free. The ripple effect from that is you make more money and can bring in even more players. Who cares what you spend when the returns are all in the positive? Their total luxury tax bill for 2025 is going to be $500M after penalties and it's all worth it financially. It's just one big cycle of "fuck you" to the rest of the league.

So how does this get fixed? Buddy, get ready to learn "lockout." We're almost certainly headed for a lengthy work stoppage once the current CBA expires. Cheap teams like the Pirates and Marlins are a problem in their own because their owners refuse to spend even a little bit. Their owners simply shouldn't be owners, but they refuse to give up their toy. But when they see the Dodgers pulling this crap, they're gonna bitch and moan for sure. Some owners will surely want a salary cap to level the competitive advantage, but that's absolutely never happening because the MLBPA would have to agree to it. A salary floor has always seemed like a no brainer to me with harsher penalties if you go over or under a specific threshold. Do you think the Dodgers care that Tanner Scott is technically costing them $37M a year with the tax involved? Of course not, because money printer go brrrrrrrr. 

Again, I have zero answers how to stop the Dodgers doing this, but if you watch what's happening in baseball and think this is all good, you're blind. I'm personally a fan of the strategy where all teams spend a lot because they're owned by very rich people. Obviously certain markets make it harder than others to do that, but in reality they all have the money to have $150M payrolls at the minimum. I'm a Yankees fan, so I'm not out here complaining about the Dodgers, I'm more trying to relate to being a Reds or Pirates fan. Like why bother, especially when owners cry poor like this. 

I can't imagine how frustrating it is to see the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees dominate the offseason while your team does absolutely nothing. Not sure how Manfred sees that and just nods his head like everything is cool. 

P.S. At least the Dodgers are in the NL and more of a Mets problem?

Conveniently ignores the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series last year. 

P.P.S. This made me smile